Late winter business updates for breweries, cideries, distilleries

The winter of 2018 has been a busy one for stops along the West Virginia Barrel Trail. Here are some business updates. 

Heston Farm For Sale

A big change in status could occur if Heston Farm in Fairmont gets a new owner. Heston Farm, which currently encompasses the Heston Farm Winery and Pinchgut Hollow Distillery, has been listed for sale through Black Diamond Realty Company. The sale seems to offer only the real estate and does not mention the winery, distillery, and restaurant equipment. The sales literature emphasizes the property’s future use as an event center.

The Heston Farm folks wrote on their Facebook page that reason for putting the property up for sale was mostly related to owner Mickey Heston’s “health issues.” We certainly wish Mickey well. In the past, Mickey has expressed his displeasure with West Virginia liquor laws that kept him from being able to sell his own distilled spirits products on-site in his restaurant. Sometime last year, Heston Farm closed its restaurant.

Offered for sale are 26 acres and all the buildings for a price of $2.38 million.  The Morgantown Dominion Post reported that the owners are “committed to working with whoever purchases the property to continue developing Heston Farm as a regional tourism attraction.” Recent improvements to Tulip Lane, which is the road to the winery from I-79, will make access to the property even easier.

A Heston Farm Facebook post reported the business had “16,000 visitors a year when things were hopping.” Brilliant Stream has in the past given Heston Farm props for developing probably one of the better winery/distillery tourist attraction in the state with tours, tastings, an event center, and good-looking grounds. The owners say they were inspired by their trips to Napa Valley. They wanted “to create an atmosphere that welcomed families, offering much more than simple wine and whiskey tastings.” They did a good job of this.

Lost River Brewing Company closes

At the end of January, we received the sad news that Lost River Brewing Company, Wardensville, closed. While we are not sure of the reasons, we do know these were some good folks trying hard in a tough and competitive brewery and restaurant market. We’ll miss them and wish them well.

Five more breweries coming

Five brewery projects have announced goals of opening for business in 2018. These include Walton Mountain in Walton, Rambling Root in Fairmont, Old Spruce on Snowshoe Mountain, Cheat Canyon in Morgantown, and High Ground in Terra Alta. See Brilliant Stream’s Breweries in Planning page for additional information.

Brewery Tidbits

Big Timber Brewing (Elkins) is still busy working to get their new brewery building renovation project completed and the brewery opened there. The location is just a few blocks up the street from their existing business. BTB’s Sam Mauzy said they are shooting to be brewing there sometime this spring, hopefully by their May 2nd anniversary date.

Screech Owl (Cuzzart) is well into the buildout of their taproom, installing the bar and kitchen equipment. They are shooting for a mid-March opening. Curtis Miers will be their chef and he will make all their pizza and pepperoni roll dough with spent grain. The bar will seat 20 and the dining area will hold another 10 to 15. An outside porch area will be a nice additional feature. Owner Roger Johnson says later this year they will likely purchase a new 10-barrel brewing system so they can increase their distribution. He makes 12 different beers now. He recently introduced a bourbon-barrel porter bottled in 16 oz. Belgian-style bottles and made Muddy Creek Ale, a beer made for the WV Land Trust to promote clean water.

Brewstel (Elkins) has developed a couple of new brews. One is a smoked IPA and the other is a big stout which is a collaboration with a Brazilian brewer who was visiting. Owner Tim Powell says his taproom has been going great this winter and he’s keeping 21 beers on tap. He offers his beers plus some brews other West Virginia brewers.

At Bridge Brew Works (Fayetteville) Ken Linch says work is well underway on their new taproom addition. It will be an open air space for the spring-summer-fall months. A good-looking post and beam timber structure with no exterior walls, they hope to have it open for the beginning of whitewater rafting season. Once the taproom opens, the brewery will expand its on-site beer offerings with pints, half-pints, and flights, adding to the samples and growler fills they now do.

Brew Keepers (Wheeling) has stayed pretty much uber-local with their beers but a change could be coming. Owner Kevin Ayers says he is exploring opening a taproom and expanding his distribution some. He wants the taproom to definitely be in Wheeling and Ayers is currently building shopping.

Morgantown Brewing is doing another Murder Mystery Beer Pairing Dinner in March or April. It will include a four-course meal with beers and an interactive mystery activity in which the audience plays a role.

Short Story (Rivesville) is working on an expansion which will add a restaurant to their taproom. Aaron Rote says to expect a street food/food truck style concept. He hopes to open the new food service April 1.  They are also adding an outdoor space.

Abolitionist Ale Works (Charles Town) is still focused internally building business for its taproom. They keep releasing very cool sounding beers, but you’ll have to travel to Charles Town to try them. Huntington area beer fans did get a treat in February when Abolitionist brought over several funky and sour brews to the winter beer festival there.

Stumptown Ales (Davis) is deeply involved in brewery expansion planning. They want to be able to supply more beer to more accounts and to more parts of the state. Their top priority for the new space is adding fermentation and brite tanks which would allow them to greatly increase production. Additional packaging and storage space is also needed.

Big news at Pubstomper (Morgantown) is their intention to get their own brewery space. Since they began, they have been brewing their beer at Morgantown Brewing Co. They are now seriously exploring the possibilities and direction for their brewery growth. They are weighing options and putting plans on paper.  Expect announcements on these plans later this year. They plan to keep doing the big IPAs that have become their signature brews. They are also looking into collaborations with other breweries.

Sophisticated Hound (Princeton) is in the final stages of building out its new brewery and taproom on Mercer St. in downtown Princeton. The 2,500 square foot space has some good-looking exposed brick walls in the taproom area. Owner Matt Barnett says he plans to have 12 beers on tap, brewed on his 10-barrel brewing system, which will also allow him to put beer into distribution around the region, including the Charleston-Huntington market. The family-friendly taproom will have a menu including panini and other foods.

Parkersburg Brewing is beginning to get things lined up to add a canning line this year. Owner Dan Curtis says cans are really an area they need to get into. The brewery has some new beers on the market this winter, including the MoJo Coffee Milk Stout, brewed with Stone Tower Joe coffee from Fairmont, and Pow Dazs Double IPA with Simcoe hops. For spring, look for a blackberry saison and a coffee blonde ale. At the taproom, they are adding more dinner items to the food menu to bring in more evening business.

Greenbrier Valley Brewing is looking at some expansion projects coming into this summer. The will likely add some new beers to their line-up. They say their new Cardinal Red Ale has been very well received.

Weathered Ground (Cool Ridge) recently introduced an interesting double black IPA called Crow’s Caw and a re-imaged version of their Cool Ridge Lager. Coming soon will be a big ultra-smooth imperial stout that clocks in at around 10% ABV. They say the demand at retail for their Haggard IPA is greatly outstripping supply. They have brewed another IPA in the New-England-style, called Stop and Smell the Citrus, with a slightly different malt bill and a completely different hop bill from Haggard. They hope to rotate the availability of these two beers.

Beer Festivals

Both year two of Morgantown’s Cabin Fever Craft Beer Festival and the inaugural year of the Wild & Wonderful Winter Beer Festival in Huntington came off well. Coming up this spring look for year two of the West Virginia Craft Brew Festival at the State Fair Grounds and year three of Foam at the Dome Festival in Charleston.

The Brewers Guild

Membership continues to pick up for the West Virginia Craft Brewers Guild. Cabin Fever Craft Beer Festival  and Mountaineer Brew Fest (Wheeling) have joined the Guild as retail members. Carrenbaurer Distributing (Wheeling) joined as a distributor member.

Cidery Updates

Swilled Dog Hard Cidery recently released two of their most popular ciders in 12 oz. cans.  Cans of Walk the Dog and Caramel Apple ciders should be available statewide. Mountain State Beverage is their distributor.

Hawk Knob Cidery is aging a cider in wine barrels with added Palo Santo wood, which will make a unique, complex cider. It’s called Ambrosia. They plan to make a New-England-style cider with added maple syrup and raisins.  They’re also working on a chocolate cider for the Lewisburg Chocolate Festival in April. They have several different styles of mead aging now that will hopefully hit the market in the next three to six months.

Distilleries

Brilliant Stream published a 2018 West Virginia Distillery Directory listing all licensed distilleries with their primary products and contact information.